Sometimes the fear of the unknown is more terrifying than the familiar present, even as awful as that may be.
Moving out of an unhealthy pattern will require the deep faith of trusting that you don’t need to see the next step in front of you.
Dr. John Tanner, in his classic BYU devotional speech on faith, taught:
“Because our tribulations unfold in real time, the only way out, alas, is through. This means we must endure not only our hardships but the ordeal of anxiety within the ordeal; it means we must live on promises and walk by faith. To walk by faith is to follow in the footsteps of Abraham, the spiritual father of the faithful (Galatians 3:7), who must sojourn as pilgrims and strangers on this earth. In Hebrews we read: ‘By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.’”[iii]
That phrase, “not knowing whither he went”, is our path here on earth. We enter relationships not knowing how they’ll turn out. We work to change ourselves and our relationships hoping for the best. We sometimes have to exit toxic relationships and situations facing yet more uncertainty. However, one thing is certain in all of this uncertainty. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland reminds us that, “[Christ] knows that for the faithful, things will be made right soon enough.”[iv]
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